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ESCP plays a key role in Officine Italia.

In a period of social distancing, the need to get together virtually is becoming stronger. A group of 50 young people, professionals and students living around the world, with the ambition to make Italy an inclusive and resilient country, organised a remarkable online happening: Officine Italia, the first “virtual piazza” in Italy, born to plan the future.

ESCP Business School, which supports the managers of tomorrow who are key players for the future of the country, has partnered with Officine Italia.

This innovative event took place entirely online, from 15th May to 17th May, and it attracted more than 1000 active participants, who connected from all over the world.

ESCP supported Officine Italia by organising the exclusive webinar "Strategic Leadership in Turbulent Times", hosted by Alessandro Lanteri, Visiting Professor of Strategy, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, who explained that the world is increasingly VUCA, which is an acronym for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. During the webinar, Professor Lanteri provided some tools to analyse the current situation and understand how the choices made today can influence the future. He explained how to achieve strategic goals embracing leadership and decision-making and cultivating foresight and anti-fragility, turning challenges into opportunities.

Officine Italia was a three-day marathon in which young Italian people based in many different countries, guided by mentoring sessions and inspired by relevant keynote speakers, worked together to develop factual ideas, proposals and projects for the regeneration of the country.

During this virtual weekend, participants discussed solutions to the challenges that Italy will face in the near future, in three macro-areas of strategic importance: Beauty, Talent and Network.

Speeches, debates and discussions addressed these topics during the event. Participants put together ideas and proposals that answer challenges related to their macro area.

Officine Italia structured the event in 12 Networking Rooms, virtual rooms coordinated by the 114 Community Partners who supported the organisers on this path. Among them there were many ESCP students' societies: About Food ESCP, Build It Up, GEA Society ESCP, JET ESCP, Regatta ESCP.

Here are two examples on how ESCP societies facilitated participation: About Food ESCP Society was one of the holders of a Networking Room focused on the promotion of the territory, typical products and food experience post-Covid19; while GEA Society ESCP hosted another one on the theme of the Circular Economy with a particular focus on how the implementation of this economic system can assist post-Covid19 recovery.

A jury, made up of Officine Italia and its partners, has identified the most promising projects for each area (Beauty, Network, Talent) choosing from 241 ideas. The three most promising projects will have the opportunity to access the acceleration and development path.

The winners of the three macro-areas are:

  • Beauty: Agroasta, a platform that brings together demand and supply of unsold food products, reallocating them on the market by an auction within a specific time limit.
  • Network: Campo Digitale, a zero-km food distribution service app based on online purchasing groups through an e-commerce platform.
  • Talent: T.U.O. Talent University Network, orientation platform that helps students in suburban schools in the choice of their future university.

Officine Italia has involved many young talents and enlightened companies and institutions who believe that we are facing a future which is uncertain but full of opportunities to be seized.

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